User Interface Allowing a Participant to Rejoin a Previously Left Videoconference

ABSTRACT

System and method involving user interfaces and remote control devices. These user interfaces may be particularly useful for providing an intuitive and user friendly interaction between a user and a device or application using a display, e.g., at a “10 foot” interaction level. The user interfaces may be specifically designed for interaction using a simple remote control device having a limited number of inputs. For example, the simple remote control may include directional inputs (e.g., up, down, left, right), a confirmation input (e.g., ok), and possibly a mute input. The user interface may be customized based on current user activity or other contexts (e.g., based on current or previous states), the user logging in (e.g., using a communication device), etc. Additionally, the user interface may allow the user to adjust cameras whose video are not currently displayed, rejoin previously left videoconferences, and/or any of a variety of desirable actions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to user interfaces and, morespecifically, to a user interface for a display using a simple remotecontrol.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

In recent years, various devices which operate using a display haveproliferated, particularly those associated with larger displays, e.g.,for entertainment or videoconferencing. For example, there are currentlymany different types of gaming consoles, set top units, digital videorecorders (DVRs), cable boxes, videoconferencing units, etc., all ofwhich provide video signals to a video display, e.g., within a livingroom or conferencing room. Typically, these devices ship with remotecontrol devices that are overly complex and frustrating to users. Forexample, current videoconferencing units often have associated remotecontrol devices where individual buttons have overloaded functionalitythat is not apparent or ergonomic to a lay user. Accordingly, the useris often forced to look between the presented user interface on thedisplay and the buttons on the remote control device multiple times toperform even simple tasks.

Thus, improvements in interactions between users and user interfaces aredesired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments are presented of a system and method for userinterfaces using remote control devices. More specifically, these userinterfaces may be particularly useful for providing an intuitive anduser friendly interaction between a user and a device or applicationusing a display, e.g., at a “10 foot” interaction level.

In some embodiments, the user interfaces may be specifically designedfor interaction using a simple remote control device. A “simple remotecontrol device” may have a limited number of inputs and may be usable bythe user without requiring the user to look at the remote control deviceduring use. For example, the simple remote control device may have fewerthan 8 inputs (e.g., 6 inputs). In one specific embodiment, the simpleremote control may include directional inputs (e.g., up, down, left,right), a confirmation input (e.g., ok), and possibly a mute input.

Accordingly, the user interfaces may be designed with the simple remotecontrol device in mind, thereby allowing a user to quickly andintuitively interact with the device or application without having tounderstand the functions provided by a complex remote control havingoverloaded functionality, as is typical in current systems.

As discussed below, these user interfaces may allow a user to customizethe system or user interface, rejoin previously left or abandonedactivities (e.g., videoconferences), and/or perform camera control(e.g., whose video are not currently displayed), among otherpossibilities. Additionally, the user interface may be adaptive or mayprovide features or contexts which are based on current activities(e.g., videoconferences, viewing videos, etc.), previous activities(e.g., when waking from a sleep state, rejoining the previousactivities, etc.), previous positions in the user interface, etc.

The embodiments discussed herein may generally be usable for any userinterfaces provided on displays, particularly those presented on largerdisplays that is not immediately proximate to the user (e.g., fordisplays 10 feet away). These user interfaces may be used for set topboxes (e.g., for watching television shows, movies, sports, etc.),gaming consoles, videoconferencing devices, home theatre PCs (HTPCs) orassociated applications executing on the HTPCs, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention may be obtained when thefollowing detailed description is considered in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate exemplary systems, according to variousembodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary simple remote control device forinteracting with user interfaces, according to an embodiment;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowchart diagrams illustrating embodiments of amethod for providing a user interface for a simple remote controldevice;

FIGS. 6A-6F illustrate exemplary interfaces corresponding to FIGS. 4 and5, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method fordetermining presence of a user based on an image;

FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate exemplary interfaces corresponding to FIG. 7,according to one embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method formodifying a user interface based on user activity;

FIGS. 10A-12H illustrate exemplary interfaces corresponding to FIG. 9,according to one embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a methodfor hiding a user interface in response to user input;

FIGS. 14A-14I illustrate exemplary interfaces corresponding to FIG. 13,according to one embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a methodfor providing a user interface which wakes from sleep in a contextsensitive manner;

FIGS. 16A-16E illustrate exemplary interfaces corresponding to FIG. 15,according to one embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a methodfor rejoining a previously joined videoconference;

FIGS. 18A-18B illustrate exemplary interfaces corresponding to FIG. 17,according to one embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an embodiment of a methodfor providing a user interface for controlling a camera whose video isnot currently displayed; and

FIGS. 20A-20F illustrate exemplary interfaces corresponding to FIG. 19,according to one embodiment.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to limit the invention to theparticular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims. Note the headings are for organizational purposes only and arenot meant to be used to limit or interpret the description or claims.Furthermore, note that the word “may” is used throughout thisapplication in a permissive sense (i.e., having the potential to, beingable to), not a mandatory sense (i.e., must). The term “include”, andderivations thereof, mean “including, but not limited to”. The term“coupled” means “directly or indirectly connected”.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Incorporation by Reference

U.S. patent application titled “Video Conferencing System Transcoder”,Ser. No. 11/252,238, which was filed Oct. 17, 2005, whose inventors areMichael L. Kenoyer and Michael V. Jenkins, is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety as though fully and completely set forthherein.

U.S. patent application titled “Virtual Decoders”, Ser. No. 12/142,263,which was filed Jun. 19, 2008, whose inventors are Keith C. King andWayne E. Mock, is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety asthough fully and completely set forth herein.

U.S. patent application titled “Video Conferencing Device which PerformsMulti-way Conferencing”, Ser. No. 12/142,340, whose inventors are KeithC. King and Wayne E. Mock, is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety as though fully and completely set forth herein.

U.S. patent application titled “Conferencing System Utilizing a MobileCommunication Device as an Interface”, Ser. No. 12/692,915, whoseinventors are Keith C. King and Matthew K. Brandt, is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety as though fully and completelyset forth herein.

U.S. patent application titled “Controlling a Videoconference Based onContext of Touch-Based Gestures”, Ser. No. 13/171,292, which was filedon Jun. 28, 2011, whose inventor is Wayne E. Mock is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety as though fully and completely set forthherein.

U.S. patent application titled “Performing Searching for a List ofEntries Using a Remote Control Device”, Ser. No. 13/327,904, which wasfiled on Dec. 16, 2011, whose inventor is Wayne E. Mock

U.S. patent application titled “Automatically Customizing a ConferencingSystem Based on Proximity of a Participant”, Ser. No. 13/194,655, whichwas filed Sep. 29, 2011, whose inventors are Prithvi Ranganath, RaghuramBelur, Sandeep Lakshmipathy, Ashish Goyal, and Binu KaiparambilShanmukhadas is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety asthough fully and completely set forth herein.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/093,948, titled “Recording aVideoconference Based on Recording Configurations”, filed Apr. 26, 2011,whose inventors are Ashish Goyal and Binu Kaiparambil Shanmukhadas.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/724,226, titled “AutomaticConferencing Based on Participant Presence”, filed on Mar. 15, 2010,whose inventor is Keith C. King, is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety as though fully and completely set forth herein.

TERMS

The following is a glossary of terms used in the present application:

Memory Medium—Any of various types of memory devices or storage devices.The term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation medium,e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; a computer system memoryor random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, RambusRAM, etc.; or a non-volatile memory such as a magnetic media, e.g., ahard drive, or optical storage. The memory medium may comprise othertypes of memory as well, or combinations thereof. In addition, thememory medium may be located in a first computer in which the programsare executed, or may be located in a second different computer whichconnects to the first computer over a network, such as the Internet. Inthe latter instance, the second computer may provide programinstructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memorymedium” may include two or more memory mediums which may reside indifferent locations, e.g., in different computers that are connectedover a network.

Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physicaltransmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physicaltransmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals.

Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems,including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system,workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digitalassistant (PDA), smart phone, television system, grid computing system,or other device or combinations of devices. In general, the term“computer system” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (orcombination of devices) having at least one processor that executesinstructions from a memory medium.

Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computersystem (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g.,circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without userinput directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thusthe term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manuallyperformed or specified by the user, where the user provides input todirectly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiatedby input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that areperformed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are notperformed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform.For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting eachfield and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typinginformation, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is fillingout the form manually, even though the computer system must update theform in response to the user actions. The form may be automaticallyfilled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g.,software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of theform and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answersto the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automaticfilling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of theform (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields butrather they are being automatically completed). The presentspecification provides various examples of operations beingautomatically performed in response to actions the user has taken.

FIG. 1—Exemplary Entertainment System

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an entertainment system,e.g., for use in a user's living room. As shown, a display 101 may beused to display video of various devices or components, such as device102. The device 102 may be any of various devices, e.g., gaming consoles(such as Xbox™ provided by Microsoft, Playstation™ provided by Sony,Wii™ provided by Nintendo, etc.), computer systems (e.g., HTPCs),digital video recorders (DVRs), streaming devices, cable or satellitedevices (e.g., for viewing cable or satellite programming), set topboxes, videoconferencing devices, etc. The device 102 may include logic(e.g., processor(s) and memory medium(s) storing program instructions,and/or circuitry) for providing video signals to the display 101 forinteraction by the user. The device 102 may be configured to providevarious user interfaces for interaction by a remote control device onthe display, as described herein.

Typically, the device 102 may be configured to perform a dedicatedfunction. For example, a videoconferencing device's dedicatedfunctionality may be to perform videoconferencing. Similarly, a gamingconsole's dedicated functionality may be to execute games. Accordingly,in some embodiments, the user interfaces described herein may beseparate from the dedicated functionality. For example, in the case of avideoconference, various user interfaces may be presented forconfiguring the device or initiating/setting up videoconferences asopposed to actually performing the videoconference. Similarly, gamingconsoles may have various user interfaces which are provided outside ofthe context of playing games (e.g., for social functions, set up,purchasing, etc.). As another example, a set top box may be provided forproviding content and may have a user interface for selecting among avariety of content choices. Thus, in this example, the dedicatedfunctionality may be providing the content and the user interfaces maybe external to that dedicated functionality (although it may be used toselect the content to be viewed).

In some embodiments, the display may include logic for performing any ofthe functionality described above. For example, the display may includea processor and memory medium for providing user interfaces as discussedherein, as well as any dedicated functionality described above. Furthertypes of user interfaces, dedicated functionality, devices, etc. areenvisioned.

Additionally, note that more than one device 102 may be coupled to thedisplay. For example, each device may provide its own video signals tothe display and the user may choose which of the device's video signalsto display. Further, other devices may also be included, such as areceiver and speakers, video camera, etc.

FIG. 2—Exemplary Videoconferencing Participant Location

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a videoconferencingparticipant location, also referred to as a videoconferencing endpointor videoconferencing system. The videoconferencing unit may beconfigured to perform embodiments described herein, such as theprovision of various user interfaces. The videoconferencing system 103may have a system codec (or videoconferencing unit) 109 to manage both aspeakerphone 105/107 and videoconferencing hardware, e.g., camera 104,display 101, speakers 171, 173, 175, etc. The speakerphones 105/107 andother videoconferencing system components may be coupled to the codec109 and may receive audio and/or video signals from the system codec109.

In some embodiments, the participant location may include camera 104(e.g., an HD camera) for acquiring images (e.g., of participant 114) ofthe participant location. Other cameras are also contemplated. Theparticipant location may also include display 101 (e.g., an HDTVdisplay). Images acquired by the camera 104 may be displayed locally onthe display 101 and/or may be encoded and transmitted to otherparticipant locations in the videoconference. In some embodiments,images acquired by the camera 104 may be encoded and transmitted to amultipoint control unit (MCU), which then provides the encoded stream toother participant locations (or videoconferencing endpoints).

The participant location may further include one or more input devices,such as the computer keyboard 140. In some embodiments, the one or moreinput devices may be used for the videoconferencing system 103 and/ormay be used for one or more other computer systems at the participantlocation, as desired.

The participant location may also include a sound system 161. The soundsystem 161 may include multiple speakers including left speakers 171,center speaker 173, and right speakers 175. Other numbers of speakersand other speaker configurations may also be used. The videoconferencingsystem 103 may also use one or more speakerphones 105/107 which may bedaisy chained together.

In some embodiments, the videoconferencing system components (e.g., thecamera 104, display 101, sound system 161, and speakerphones 105/107)may be coupled to a system codec 109. The system codec 109 may be placedon a desk or on the floor. Other placements are also contemplated. Thesystem codec 109 may receive audio and/or video data from a network,such as a LAN (local area network) or the Internet. The system codec 109may send the audio to the speakerphone 105/107 and/or sound system 161and the video to the display 101. The received video may be HD videothat is displayed on the HD display. The system codec 109 may alsoreceive video data from the camera 104 and audio data from thespeakerphones 105/107 and transmit the video and/or audio data over thenetwork to another conferencing system, or to an MCU for provision toother conferencing systems. The conferencing system may be controlled bya participant or user through various mechanisms, such as a remotecontrol device, described herein. The remote control device may beimplemented with a plurality of inputs, such as physical buttons and/orwith a touch interface. In some embodiments, the remote control devicemay be implemented as a portion of other videoconferencing devices, suchas the speakerphones 107 and/or 105, and/or as a separate device. FIG. 3provides an exemplary embodiment of simple remote control device.

In various embodiments, the codec 109 may implement a real timetransmission protocol. In some embodiments, the codec 109 (which may beshort for “compressor/decompressor” or “coder/decoder”) may comprise anysystem and/or method for encoding and/or decoding (e.g., compressing anddecompressing) data (e.g., audio and/or video data). For example,communication applications may use codecs for encoding video and audiofor transmission across networks, including compression andpacketization. Codecs may also be used to convert an analog signal to adigital signal for transmitting over various digital networks (e.g.,network, PSTN, the Internet, etc.) and to convert a received digitalsignal to an analog signal. In various embodiments, codecs may beimplemented in software, hardware, or a combination of both. Some codecsfor computer video and/or audio may utilize MPEG, Indeo™, and Cinepak™,among others.

In some embodiments, the videoconferencing system 103 may be designed tooperate with normal display or high definition (HD) displaycapabilities. The videoconferencing system 103 may operate with networkinfrastructures that support T1 capabilities or less, e.g., 1.5mega-bits per second or less in one embodiment, and 2 mega-bits persecond in other embodiments.

Note that the videoconferencing system(s) described herein may bededicated videoconferencing systems (i.e., whose purpose is to providevideoconferencing) or general purpose computers (e.g., IBM-compatiblePC, Mac, etc.) executing videoconferencing software (e.g., a generalpurpose computer for using user applications, one of which performsvideoconferencing). A dedicated videoconferencing system may be designedspecifically for videoconferencing, and is not used as a general purposecomputing platform; for example, the dedicated videoconferencing systemmay execute an operating system which may be typically streamlined (or“locked down”) to run one or more applications to providevideoconferencing, e.g., for a conference room of a company. In otherembodiments, the videoconferencing system may be a general use computer(e.g., a typical computer system which may be used by the general publicor a high end computer system used by corporations) which can execute aplurality of third party applications, one of which providesvideoconferencing capabilities. Videoconferencing systems may be complex(such as the videoconferencing system shown in FIG. 1) or simple (e.g.,a user computer system with a video camera, input devices, microphoneand/or speakers). Thus, references to videoconferencing systems,endpoints, etc. herein may refer to general computer systems whichexecute videoconferencing applications or dedicated videoconferencingsystems. Note further that references to the videoconferencing systemsperforming actions may refer to the videoconferencing application(s)executed by the videoconferencing systems performing the actions (i.e.,being executed to perform the actions).

As described herein, the videoconferencing system 103 may executevarious videoconferencing application software that presents a graphicaluser interface (GUI) on the display 101. The GUI may be used to presentan address book, contact list, list of previous callees (call list)and/or other information indicating other videoconferencing systems thatthe user may desire to call to conduct a videoconference. The GUI mayalso present options for recording a current videoconference, and mayalso present options for viewing a previously recorded videoconference.

Note that the videoconferencing system shown in FIG. 2 may be modifiedto be an audioconferencing system. For example, the audioconferencecould be performed over a network, e.g., the Internet, using VoIP.Additionally, note that any reference to a “conferencing system” or“conferencing systems” may refer to videoconferencing systems oraudioconferencing systems (e.g., teleconferencing systems). In theembodiments described below, the conference is described as avideoconference, but note that the methods may be modified forutilization in an audioconference.

When performing a videoconference, the various videoconferencing systemsmay be coupled in a variety of manners. For example, thevideoconferencing systems may be coupled over wide area networks (e.g.,such as the Internet) and/or local area networks (LANs). The networksmay be wired or wireless as desired. During a videoconference, variousones of the videoconferencing units may be coupled using disparatenetworks. For example, two of the videoconferencing systems may becoupled over a LAN while others of the videoconference are coupled overa wide area network. Additionally, the communication links between thevideoconferencing units may be implemented in a variety of manners, suchas those described in the patent applications incorporated by referenceabove.

FIG. 3—Exemplary Remote Control Device

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary remote control device 150 which may beused to implement various embodiments described herein. In thisparticular example, the remote control device 150 is a simple remotecontrol device having relatively few inputs. As shown, the remotecontrol device 150 includes directional inputs (up, down, left, right),a confirmation input (ok), and a mute input. Note that these inputs maybe implemented as physical buttons, in a touch interface (e.g., withhaptic or other physical feedback and/or physical features indicatingthe locations of the inputs), or in any other desirable manner.Generally, the simple remote control device 150 may be implemented in amanner that allows the user to use the remote control device 150 withouthaving to look at the remote control device 150. More specifically, theremote control device 150 may be implemented such that a user may lookat the remote control device 150 and begin to use the remote controldevice 150 without requiring further analysis of inputs or layout (e.g.,due to its simplicity). This design may allow the user to visually focusonly on the display 101 rather than dividing visual focus between thedisplay 101 and the remote control device 150. Accordingly, inconjunction with a properly designed user interface may lead to a moreefficient and pleasant user experience.

While only six inputs are shown in FIG. 3, more or fewer inputs may beused. For example, an additional menu input (e.g., for accessing orclearing menus), power input (e.g., for turning a device on or off),etc. may be added. However, while additional inputs are contemplated,for a simple remote control device, fewer than 8 or 10 inputs may bedesired so that the user can easily remember the location and purpose ofeach input without requiring visual analysis. Simple remote controldevices may typically avoid having dedicated alphanumeric inputs. Morecomplex remote control devices are also envisioned (e.g., having morethan 8 or 10 inputs), but design must be carefully implemented in orderto overcome the typical deficiencies of complex remotes noted above.

Additionally, while the remote 150 may be particularly devoted toembodiments concerning videoconferencing (e.g., where a mute input isgenerally desirable) other features may be more desirable for othertypes of devices or applications. For example, the mute input may bereplaced by a menu input, a power on/off input, or may simply beremoved, among other possibilities.

Following Descriptions

The following Figures and paragraphs describe various embodiments ofuser interfaces that may be used with the systems of FIGS. 1 and 2 aswell as the remote control device of FIG. 3, although variations areenvisioned. In one embodiment, these user interfaces may be usedtogether within a larger user interface or menu system, such as shown inthe exemplary user interface Figures. In the below, an embodiment of auser interface (e.g., a feature of the menu system) may be describedfollowed by descriptions of Figures showing an example of such a userinterface. These user interfaces are only provided as examples of thedescribed methods and are not intended to be limiting.

FIG. 4—Providing a User Interface for a Simple Remote Control Device

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a method for providing a userinterface having multiple items in a row. The method shown in FIG. 4 maybe used in conjunction with any of the computer systems or devices shownin the above Figures, among other devices. In various embodiments, someof the method elements shown may be performed concurrently, performed ina different order than shown, or omitted. Additional method elements mayalso be performed as desired. As shown, this method may operate asfollows.

In 402, a first row of items (e.g., icons) may be displayed on adisplay. For example, the first row of items may be displayed as ahorizontal row in a top portion of the display. However, in alternateembodiments, the row may be a vertical row, e.g., displayed along a sideof the display.

Each of the items may be selectable to perform a function. The functionmay be any of a variety of functions. For example, an item may beselectable to perform an action related to the respective item, e.g.,such as activating a “do not disturb” state, entering a “sleep” state,beginning a presentation, etc. Alternatively, the item may be selectableto cause a second row of items related to the respective item to bedisplayed, as discussed below with respect to the method of FIG. 5.Further, the item may be selected to generate a list related to therespective item (e.g., each of which may be selectable to perform anaction). Examples of these functions are provided and described in moredetail below.

In 404, an element selection item (or “selection item”) may be displayedat a first location on the display. Initially, a first item of the firstrow may be shown at the first location. More specifically, the selectionitem may indicate that the first item is currently selected. Theselection item may be any visual indication that an element (in thiscase, the first item) is selected. In one embodiment, the selection itemmay be an icon that is displayed around or over a currently selecteditem to indicate that the item is selected. Additionally oralternatively, the selection item may be any visual indication of anitem, such as highlighting of the item, increased size of the item, textaccompanying the item, and/or animation of the item, among otherpossibilities.

In some embodiments, the selection item may include smaller icons, suchas arrows (e.g., with animations, such as “bouncing” animations), whichindicate the resulting actions of inputs of the remote control. Forexample, for a top level row (e.g., the initially displayed row that hasno parent row), there may be no up arrow icon (assuming a top levelhorizontal row), but there may be left and right arrow icons indicatingthat the user can select items to the left or right. Thus, the selectionitem may provide visual indications of user input that may be receivedand/or the result of that input. Further examples of this behavior willbe discussed below.

In 406, directional input may be received to associate the selectionitem with a second item in the first row of items. For example, a usermay use a remote control device to provide the directional input (e.g.,selecting up, down, left, or right inputs on the remote control device).More specifically, where the row is displayed as a horizontal row on thedisplay, the directional input may be received as horizontal directionalinput (e.g., left or right input) to change from having the first itemselected by the selection item to a second item being selected by theselection item. The second item may be immediately adjacent to the firstitem (e.g., it may be the item immediately to the left or right of thefirst item). Note that the user may wish to select an item that is morethan one item away; however, the user will typically provide eithercontinuous input (e.g., holding down a directional input) or multiplediscrete inputs (e.g., selecting a directional input multiple times) toreach the desired item. Regardless, the input may typically requestimmediately adjacent items to reach the desired item.

In 408, a modified first row of items may be displayed in response tothe directional input. More specifically, the first row of items may bemoved by one item based on the directional input (e.g., in the directionopposite that indicated by the directional input). For example, in 404,the selection item may be positioned over the first item at a centrallocation within the first row. In 406, the user may wish to highlight asecond item to the right of the first item and may accordingly providedirectional input to the right to cause the selection item to indicateselection of the second item. In response, in 408, the first row may beshifted to the left by one item, thereby causing the second item to bedisplayed at the same location as the selection item at the centrallocation of the first row. Thus, in this particular embodiment, theselection item may remain in the same location, while the first itemshifts from its initial location (that of the selection item) to oneposition to the left and the second item shifts from its initiallocation to the location of the selection item.

During this process, an item may disappear on the left side of thescreen and a new item may appear on the right side of the screen,assuming a horizontal row and depending on the number of items in thefirst row. In some embodiments, the items may “wrap” where the left mostitem of the row (whether displayed or not) is adjacent to the right mostitem of the row (whether displayed or not). In a wrapping embodiment, auser may be able to reselect a particular item after providing a numberof directional inputs (e.g., corresponding to the number of items in therow) in the same direction.

Accordingly, based on 408, the first item may no longer be selected andthe second item may become selected. In some embodiments, a transitionanimation may be shown as the row is modified, showing the first itemmoving away from the selection item and the second item moving into theselection item. During the transition, the visual indications indicatingthat the first item is selected may disappear while they appear for thesecond item. For example, the first item may decrease in size while thesecond item increases in size. Additionally, text labeling the firstitem may disappear while text labeling the second item may appear. Anyvisual indications of the selection item may similar disappear from thefirst item and appear for the second item, e.g., in an animated fashion.

Note that in some embodiments, there may be a distinction drawn betweenan item (or icon) being selected and receiving input indicatingacceptance of that item or confirming selection of the item. Forexample, confirmation of a selection (or input indicating acceptance ofan item or selection of the item) may be performed by or in response tothe user selecting an ok or confirmation input (e.g., as shown on theremote control device of FIG. 3). However, confirmation may also includeproviding a particular directional input that indicates confirmation ofa previous selected item (e.g., by pressing the right directional inputfor a selected item displayed in a vertical list). Thus, the particularconfirmation input may be context specific. Note that some functions maybe performed in response to selection (e.g., without confirmation), suchas displaying a submenu, whereas other functions may only be performedin response to confirmation of a selection (e.g., entering a “do notdisturb” state). Generally, in any of the descriptions herein, anydescribed actions may be performed in response to selection orconfirmation of the selection, depending on the embodiment.

FIG. 5—Providing a User Interface for a Simple Remote Control Device

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a method for providing a userinterface having multiple rows with multiple items. The method shown inFIG. 5 may be used in conjunction with any of the computer systems ordevices shown in the above Figures, among other devices. In variousembodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performedconcurrently, performed in a different order than shown, or omitted.Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. As shown,this method may operate as follows.

In 502, a first row of items may be displayed at a first row location ona display, similar to 402 above.

In 504, an element selection item (or “selection item”) may be displayedat a first location on the display, similar to 404 above. Also similarto above, a first item of the first row may be shown at the firstlocation. In one embodiment, the first item (in FIG. 5) may have beenselected as the second item as described in the method of FIG. 4.

In 506, a second row of items may be displayed adjacent to (e.g., below)the first row of items, e.g., based on the selection of the first item.For example, the first row of items may be displayed as a horizontal rowof items along the top of the display. The second row of items may bedisplayed as a second horizontal row of items below the first row ofitems. The second row of items may all be associated with or related tothe first item that is currently selected. For example, the second rowof items may act as a submenu for the currently selected item. In someembodiments, the second row of items may be automatically displayed inresponse to selection of the first item. Alternatively, the second rowof items may be displayed in response to confirmation of selection ofthe first item (e.g., and not displayed in response to only selection).

In some embodiments, the second row of items may have a “grayed out” ortransparent appearance compared to the first row. For example, the itemsof the second row may have a higher transparency than the items of thefirst row. This appearance may indicate that the second row of items isnot currently “in focus”, e.g., until the user wishes to select an itemin the second row. Other appearances which convey a similar meaning arealso envisioned.

In 508, directional input may be received to associate the selectionitem with a second item in the second row of items. For example, wherethe rows of items are displayed in a horizontal orientation, and thesecond row is displayed below the first row (although other embodimentsare envisioned), the user may provide down directional input using aremote control to select the second item which may be immediately belowthe first item. Note that the second item may be the item which was lastselected in the second row of items. For example, the user may havepreviously accessed the second row of items and selected one of theitems. Later, the user may have escaped the second row of items (e.g.,by providing up directional input. Accordingly, the item of the secondrow immediately below the first item may be the item that was lastselected in the second row of items. Thus, the second row may be“sticky” and may remain in its last position when redisplayed. However,other embodiments are envisioned where a default item of the second rowof items is displayed immediately below the first item.

In 510, the second row may be displayed at the first row location inresponse to the directional input. More specifically, the second row ofitems may move into the position of the first row of items. The firstrow of items may be removed from the screen. Accordingly, the second rowof items may no longer have a “grayed out” or “transparent” appearancesince it is now in the position of the first row and “in focus”.Additionally, similar to 408 above, the selection item (now indicatingselection of the second item) may remain in the same location (e.g.,centered in the first row location), and the second item may move intothat position. Similar to descriptions above, an animation may be shownto indicate the transition of the second row moving from its originallocation to the first row location.

FIGS. 6A-6F—Exemplary Interfaces Corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 5

FIGS. 6A-6F are exemplary user interfaces which correspond to oneembodiment of the methods of FIGS. 4 and 5. More specifically, theseuser interfaces correspond to an embodiment involving videoconferencing.These graphical user interfaces are provided as examples only and do notlimit any of the embodiments described above.

FIG. 6A illustrates an exemplary user interface where a plurality oficons are shown in a horizontal row across the top of the display. Asshown, a selection item indicates that the “sleep” icon is currentlyselected. In this particular embodiment, the “sleep icon” is enlargedrelative to the other icons in the row and also includes text labelingthe icon (in this case, the text “sleep” is shown below the icon). Theremaining icons that are not currently selected do not have their textshown. Further, the icon is surrounded by a rectangular icon. Below thisselection item is text describing the function or use of the icon (inthis case, the text is “press OK to sleep”). Additionally, left andright arrows are displayed outside the rectangular icon on the left andright, respectively. These icons indicate that the user may providedirectional input to the left and right to select icons to the left andright, respectively. In one embodiment, these icons may be animated,e.g., using a “bouncing” animation. Note that the selection item may beconsidered any of the above visual modifications which visually indicatethat the sleep icon is currently selected.

In addition to the currently selected “sleep” icon, a “help” icon isshown on the left, a “do not disturb” icon is shown to the right, an“information” icon is shown to the right of that icon, a “connection”icon is shown to the right of that icon, and a portion of another iconis shown to the right of that icon. Further, in some embodiments (notshown in these Figures), a background image may be displayed within theuser interface. The first row of icons may be semi-transparent (e.g.,having 5%, 10%, 25%, etc. transparency, although other values areenvisioned).

In FIG. 6A, the user may wish to select the icon immediately to theright of the “sleep” icon (in this particular case, the “do not disturb”icon). Accordingly, the user may provide directional input to the right(by selecting the right directional input of the remote control device)to select that icon. In response, the row of icons may be shifted to theleft in an animated fashion, resulting in FIG. 6B. As discussed above,the visual indications indicating selection of the first icon maydisappear for the first icon and appear for the second icon, (althoughin a manner consistent with the second icon).

As shown in FIG. 6B, the “sleep” icon, which was previously selected,has shifted to the left and is no longer visually indicated by theselection item. More specifically, the icon has decreased in size, doesnot have any associated text, does not have a rectangular icon aroundit, etc. In contrast, the newly selected icon, “do not disturb”, is nowcentered in the row, enlarged, has a label (“do not disturb”), has therectangular icon around it, has left and right icons outside of therectangular icon, and has text describing its use (“press OK to set”).Because all of the icons have decreased shifted, a new “calendar” iconhas appeared as the farthest icon to the right in the row. Additionally,note that the first and second icons of FIGS. 6A and 6B have anassociated action which may be performed in response to confirmation oftheir selection.

In the example of FIG. 6C, the user has provided right directional inputtwice (repeating the shifting actions as in FIGS. 6A and 6B) to selectthe “connections” icon. For this icon, a list or table of items isdisplayed below the first row. As shown, a new down arrow icon is shown,indicating that the user can select items in the list of items. Morespecifically, various users or previous users may login to thevideoconferencing endpoint by selecting the items.

As shown in FIG. 6D, the user has selected the item “Tuesday”—“CaseyKing”, which is visually indicated by a highlight around the box of theitem, as well as the right arrow next to the item (with the text “top”indicating that the user can provide the right directional input to moveto the top of the list) and the text “press OK to login”, indicatingthat confirming the selection will log in “Casey King”. As also shown inFIG. 6D, an up arrow icon is shown below the “connections” icon in therow of icons, indicating that the user can return back to the menu byreaching the top of the list (e.g., by providing the right directionalinput) and pressing the up directional input.

In FIG. 6E, the user has returned to the first row of icons and selectedthe “call” icon. In response to selection of the “call” icon, a secondrow of icons associated with the “call icon” is displayed below thefirst row of icons. For the “call” icon, the user can select left orright directional inputs to select icons to the left or right of the“call” icon or may access the submenu in the second row of icons byselecting the down directional input, as is indicated by the arrow iconsaround the “call” icon. In this case, the icon immediately below the“call” icon is a “directory” icon. As indicated above, the “directory”icon may have been the last icon selected in this submenu and maytherefore remain in the position under the “call” icon. Alternatively,the “directory” icon may be the default icon associated with the “call”icon and may always be displayed underneath the “call” icon when the“call” icon is selected.

In FIG. 6F, the user has selected the down directional input.Accordingly, the second row has now moved into the first or primary rowlocation and the first row has disappeared. At this point, the“directory” icon is indicated as selected by the selection item”. Fromthis point, the user can choose any direction: left to select the iconto the left, right to select the icon to the right, down to access thelist of contacts (in this case, there are 785, as indicated by thescroll bar to the right of the list), and up to access the previous, toplevel menu. The fact that the previous upper level menu is a top levelmenu is indicated by the “home” icon next to the up arrow icon displayedabove the rectangle of the selection item. Note further that the parenticon is shown on the left (in this case “calls”) indicating which parenticon the submenu belongs to. This icon may be visually indicated in adifferent color and transparency and may remain in this position (e.g.,may be “static”) regardless of how the user selects the various sub-menuicons within the call submenu. As shown in FIG. 6F, the list of contactsis sorted by first word in alphabetical order.

As can be seen, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6A-6F, the selectionitem generally maintains a constant position for the rows of the userinterface. Accordingly, the user is able focus on a single position ofthe display without having to visually roam the display. Additionally,the user interface provides visual indications of the functions of thevarious inputs of the remote control device for the user, e.g., at ornear the point of focus. Accordingly, the user can quickly performdesired actions without encountering confusion.

FIG. 7—Determining Presence of a User Based on an Image

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a method for determining presence ofa user based on an image. The method shown in FIG. 7 may be used inconjunction with any of the computer systems or devices shown in theabove Figures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some of themethod elements shown may be performed concurrently, performed in adifferent order than shown, or omitted. Additional method elements mayalso be performed as desired.

Generally, the method may detect that a user is in proximity to adevice, such as a conferencing system. As used herein “in proximity to”or general descriptions related to a user being “proximate to” aconferencing system refers to a user that is close enough in distance toparticipate in a conference using the conferencing system. Generally, aconferencing system may be within a conference room, so a user beingproximate to such a conferencing system may simply refer to the userbeing within the same conference room as the conferencing system.However, where a room is very large, a user may need to be closer to theconferencing system than simply being within the same room to beconsidered “proximate to” the conferencing system. Similar remarks referto other types of devices, such as set top boxes, e.g., where “inproximity to” may be within the same room as the entertainment systemand/or close enough to use the set top box for its desired function.

The detection that the user is proximate to the device may be performedmanually or automatically, as desired. This detection may be performedin a variety of manners, such as via user input (e.g., entering a PIN),providing audible commands (e.g., a log in phrase), voice recognition,facial recognition, visual gestures, automatic detection of a personaldevice of a user (e.g., using Bluetooth, 802.11, NFC protocols, etc.),etc. In general, the detection may be performed in any of the mannersdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/194,656 and/or12,724,226, which were incorporated by reference in their entiretyabove, among other possible detection methods.

In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the detection of the usermay be performed based on an image provided by the user. As shown, themethod may operate as follows.

More specifically, in 702, a user interface may be displayed on at leastone display. For example, the interface described above (e.g., withrespect to FIGS. 4 and 5) may be displayed to a user on the at least onedisplay. In one embodiment, the user interface may relate tovideoconferencing and may be displayed by a videoconferencing unit.However, the user interface may be any of a variety of interfaces, asdesired. More specifically, the user interface may be displayed (orcaused to be displayed) by any device that is capable of providing videosignals to a display, which may be integrated with the device or not, asdesired. For example, the device may include a set top box or othercomponent which connects to a monitor or display in an entertainmentsystem. Other types of devices and user interfaces are also envisioned.

In 704, an image may be received from the user which is usable toidentify the user. For example, the image may include a bar code orquick reference (QR) code which encodes information that is usable toidentify the user. However, other types of images are also envisioned,e.g., including a badge of the user, a photo of the user, a credit cardor other type of card which identifies the user, etc. Thus, any imagethat identifies the user may be used.

The image may be provided to the device in any number of manners. Forexample, the user may store the image in a personal device of the user,such as a personal communication device (e.g., a cell phone, tabletcomputer, etc.) or any type of device which is able to store and displayor transfer the image. In one particular embodiment, the user may loadthe image as a photo and have it displayed on the personal device. Theuser may then present the displayed image on the personal device to thedevice to be customized (e.g., the conferencing unit). For example, inan embodiment where the user is interacting with a conferencing unit,the user may present the displayed image to a video input (e.g., acamera) of the conferencing system, which may be detected by theconferencing unit (or even the camera), as desired. In otherembodiments, there may be a bar code reader or other dedicated devicefor receiving the image, as desired.

As another possibility, the personal device may be configured to providethe image to the videoconferencing unit (or other type of device,depending on the embodiment) digitally, e.g., using a wirelesscommunication protocol, such as Bluetooth, NFC, WiFi, RFID, etc. Forexample, the user may execute an application on the personal devicewhich is configured to establish communication with the conferencingunit and provide the image to the conferencing unit for identification,e.g., automatically, in response to user input to initiate thecommunication.

Thus, in 704, an image identifying the user may be provided to thedevice.

In 706, the user may be identified based on the image. For example, thedevice may decode the bar code or QR code to determine the informationin the image. The information may uniquely identify the user, e.g.,including his name, PIN, employee number, and/or any other identifyinginformation. Where other types of images are received, other processingmay be performed to identify the user. For example, image processing maybe used to match a provided image of the user to a stored imageassociated with the user. Once located, other associated userinformation may be determined, e.g., for customization of the device,such as the user interface presented to the user by the device.

In 708, the user interface may be customized and displayed based on theidentification of the user. Customizing the user interface may includeloading content associated with the user. In some embodiments, thecontent may already be stored on the device or it may be automaticallydownloaded from a server (e.g., over a local area network (LAN) or widearea network (WAN), such as the Internet). Accordingly, the content maybe loaded onto the device so as to customize the device for the user.The content may be any of various settings or other information that isalready associated with the user.

For example, for a conferencing system, such as a videoconferencingsystem, the content may include a contact list associated with the user.Thus, even though the user may be using a new device (e.g., one that hehas not used previously), his contact list may be loaded and availableat the new device based on the automatic customization. Similarly, othercontent may be loaded, such as device identification settings (e.g., torename the device to indicate the presence of or customization for theuser), lighting settings, recording settings, camera settings orpresets, conferencing layout settings (e.g., for videoconferences),presentation settings, background images, menu layouts, schedule,upcoming meetings, previously invited guests, etc.

Further, a schedule (e.g., a conference schedule) associated with theuser may be loaded. For example, the user may be able to select anupcoming conference and initiate the conference using the schedule.Additionally, some of the customizations described above may also bebased on an upcoming conference. For example, if the upcoming conferenceis for a single person in the conferencing room, the camera settings orpresets may be customized for having a single person. Similarly, theloaded layout settings may be customized based on the expected number ofparticipants or other endpoints in an upcoming conference.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, the device may be customized based onthe proximity of the user. While many of the above examples apply toconferencing systems, other customizations are envisioned. For example,for a DVR or cable set top box, various favorite channels or previouslyrecorded content may be loaded based on identification of the user.Similarly, for a gaming console, previous purchased games, a friendslist, etc. may be downloaded in response to the identifying the user.Thus, any of a variety of devices may be customized in the mannerdescribed above.

FIGS. 8A-8C—Exemplary Interfaces Corresponding to FIG. 7

FIGS. 8A and 8B are exemplary user interfaces which correspond to oneembodiment of the method of FIG. 7. More specifically, these userinterfaces correspond to an embodiment involving videoconferencing.These graphical user interfaces are provided as examples only and do notlimit any of the embodiments described above.

In FIG. 8A, an exemplary user interface is initially displayed. Asshown, the user has selected the “connections” option from the top levelmenu in FIG. 8A and has selected the “Login to your account” option inFIG. 8B. Upon pressing “OK” or the confirmation input, the user maylogin to the device using one or more of the various options discussedabove, e.g., by presenting an image of a QR code to thevideoconferencing system (such as via the camera of thevideoconferencing system). FIG. 8C illustrates an exemplary phoneshowing a QR code. Upon logging in, various user data may be loaded intothe videoconferencing system, which may result in various changes to theuser interface, such as loading the schedule of the user, contacts ofthe user, camera settings of the user, layout settings of the user, etc.

FIG. 9—Modifying a User Interface Based on User Activity

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a method for modifying a userinterface based on user activity. The method shown in FIG. 9 may be usedin conjunction with any of the computer systems or devices shown in theabove Figures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some of themethod elements shown may be performed concurrently, performed in adifferent order than shown, or omitted. Additional method elements mayalso be performed as desired. As shown, the method may operate asfollows.

In 902, a user interface may be displayed, similar to 702 above.Generally, the user interface may include a first plurality of icons,e.g., at a top level. For example, the first plurality of icons maycorrespond to the first row of icons described in FIGS. 4 and 5. Morespecifically, the top level icons may be the icons that are initiallydisplayed when the user interface is invoked, e.g., which correspond toa first set of functions that the user may wish to invoke. As notedabove, the user interface may be dedicated to a videoconferencingsystem, e.g., for performing videoconferencing activities; however,other embodiments are envisioned, e.g., for set top boxes, or otherdevices, as desired.

In 904, a change in context may be detected. The change in context mayresult from any of a variety of actions. In one embodiment, a user mayinvoke an activity, e.g., by selecting an action from the userinterface. For example, the user may select an icon in the userinterface using a selection item. The icon may be one of the firstplurality of icons at the first level, or may be one of a lower level(e.g., a child icon of one of the first plurality of icons). However,the activity may be selected in any number of alternate methods as well,e.g., using a dedicated button on the remote control, in response touser input from another videoconferencing system (e.g., invideoconferencing embodiments), etc.

For example, following videoconferencing embodiments, the user mayselect an option to enter a presentation mode. Accordingly, the contextmay be changed, e.g., from being in a videoconference to providing apresentation in the videoconference. As another option, the user mayselect an option to enter a videoconference (e.g., where the context ischanged from previously not being in the videoconference to entering thevideoconference). A variety of other actions are also envisioned (e.g.,separate from videoconferencing), such as beginning playback of a video(e.g., a movie, TV show, etc.), beginning play of a game, entering arecording mode, beginning an Internet browsing session, etc.

However, context changes may occur other than actions invoked by a localuser. For example, a remote user may cause a context change, such as bythe remote user beginning a presentation. Context changes could includethe type of content being provided, e.g., a first context when desiredcontent (such as a TV show or movie) is provided and a second contextwhen other content (such as commercials) is provided. Further, contextchanges could include current date, day of the week, (e.g., whether itis a weekend or weekday), current time (e.g., day time, night time,business hours, etc.), number of users in the room or in a conference,various environmental factors (e.g., activities being performed by usersnear the device, such as cooking, watching television, using a portabledevice, etc.). Thus, a context change may be caused by any number offactors. Further context changes related to conferencing may includestarting a voice call, starting a video call, starting a presentationduring a video call, etc. Generally, context changes may relate to anyactivity that is supported by the system.

In 906, the user interface may be automatically modified based on thechange in context in 904. Changes to the user interface may be based onthe particular context detected in 904. In embodiments where the contextchange is based on the invocation of actions, the user interface may becustomized based on the particular action that was invoked. For example,following embodiments where the user interface includes a firstplurality of top level icons, the user interface may be modified toinclude a second plurality of top level icons. More specifically, thetop level icons may be modified such that the new set of icons relate orare useful based on the current activity and those that are not relatedor useful may be removed or moved to a lower-level. For example, a newicon may be added to the top level for “other” or “advanced” andprevious top level icons that are no longer present may be selectedusing the new “other” or “advanced” (or other label) icon. The new toplevel set of icons may be from the previous top level set of iconsand/or may be new icons, as desired.

For example, where the user has entered a presentation mode, theinitially presented top level icons may be changed to those that relateto presenting and those that are not related may be moved to alower-level, e.g., beneath an “advanced” or “other” top level icon.Similar embodiments may apply to initiating playback of video,recording, entering or initializing a videoconference, etc. FIGS.10A-12I provide some examples of this behavior.

While the above descriptions focus on top level icon embodiments, thechange in the user interface is not limited to such embodiments (e.g.,having rows of icons such as previously discussed). For example, theuser interface may simply make choices or icons representing functionsthat relate to the context change more prominent, e.g., by adding visualcues to these options in the user interface.

For other types of context changes, other modifications may beperformed. For example, where content changes from desired content toundesired content (e.g., from a TV show or movie to commercials), theuser interface may be changed such that a mute option is selected or ismore prominent than other options (e.g., at the top level). Whenrecording, an option to stop recording may be more prominent (e.g., atthe top level). Various other changes to the user interface based on thecontext change are contemplated.

Thus, in FIG. 9, a user interface may be modified based on a detectedchange in context.

FIGS. 10A-12H—Exemplary Interfaces Corresponding to FIG. 9

FIGS. 10A-10C, 11A-11B, and 12A-12I are exemplary user interfaces whichcorrespond to one embodiment of the method of FIG. 9. More specifically,these user interfaces correspond to an embodiment involvingvideoconferencing. These graphical user interfaces are provided asexamples only and do not limit any of the embodiments described above.

FIGS. 10A-10C illustrate a change in user interface when initiating avideoconference. More specifically, in FIG. 10A, the icon “call” isselected using the selection item. The call icon is shown at the toplevel, among a plurality of other icons. Additionally, a lower level,below call is shown, which provides a set of options related to variouscall options or functions.

As shown in FIG. 10B, the user has selected “Abhishek Gupta” from thedirectory icon within the “call” sub-level. As also shown, videocorresponding to the selected participant is shown in the background.

In FIG. 10C, after initiating the call with Abhishek, a new top levelset of icons are shown. The currently selected icon, “add” may be usedto add another caller to the videoconference. Other options at the toplevel include presentation, mute, volume control, record, layout change,and “advanced” (shown as a sigma icon), which may be used to accessothers of the previous top level icons, shown in FIG. 10A.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate modification of a user interface based oninitiation of a presentation. As shown in FIG. 11A, the user hasselected the “presentation” icon from the initial set of top levelicons. In FIG. 11B, the top level has been modified to include functionsrelated to presentation (e.g., call functions, recording, cameracontrol, etc.) as well as the “advanced” icon, which may be used toaccess previous top level icons of FIG. 11A.

Finally, FIGS. 12A-12I illustrate modification of a user interface basedon initiation of a video. As shown in FIG. 12A, the user has selectedthe “videos” icon from the top level menu. In FIG. 12B, the user hasselected the video “The Fifth Element”. In FIG. 12C, after initiatingplayback of the video, the user interface is modified to includeplayback controls, adding or removing calls (as shown in FIG. 12D), oradvanced, e.g., which includes the previous top level icons, shown inFIG. 12E. In FIG. 12F, the user has returned to the playback menu.Finally, FIGS. 12G and 12H indicate that the icon for the playback menumay toggle between paused and playing, depending on the current state ofvideo playback.

FIG. 13—Hiding a User Interface in Response to User Input

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a method for hiding a userinterface in response to user input. The method shown in FIG. 13 may beused in conjunction with any of the computer systems or devices shown inthe above Figures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some ofthe method elements shown may be performed concurrently, performed in adifferent order than shown, or omitted. Additional method elements mayalso be performed as desired. As shown, the method may operate asfollows.

Initially, in 1302, a user interface may be displayed, similar to 702above. The user interface may include a first row of icons on thedisplay (e.g., a top level set of icons). Additionally, the userinterface may include other rows (e.g., second rows or sub-rowsunderneath an icon in the first row if icons).

In 1304, an element selection item may be displayed at a first icon. Forexample, the user may have provided user input to select the first icon,e.g., using a remote control device, such as the one shown in FIG. 3. Inone embodiment, the first icon may be one of the icons in the first rowof icons (e.g., at the top level). However, the first icon may be partof another row of icons, e.g., beneath the top level, as desired.

In 1306, first input may be received from a remote control to hide theuser interface while the first icon is selected. For example, the firstinput may include directional input from the user. In one specificembodiment, the first icon may be at the top level and the directionalinput may be “up” directional input (e.g., where the top level icons areshown at the top of the user interface). Alternatively, if the icons arepositioned at other portions of the screen (e.g., left, bottom, right),then the input may be received in those directions to hide the screen.Generally, the directional input that is used to hide the icons or userinterface is the one that would have no other function given thelocation of the element selection item. Alternatively, the remotecontrol device may include a “menu” or other input that may be used tohide the user interface. Thus, input may be received to hide the userinterface.

In response, in 1308, selection information may be stored whichindicates that the first icon is currently selected and/or otherwisestores the current state of the user interface. This selectioninformation may be stored as state information for later use, e.g., forwhen the user interface is redisplayed in 1312 below.

In 1310, second input may be received from the remote control to displaythe user interface. The second input may be any of a variety of inputs.For example, in one embodiment, any input may cause the user interfaceto be displayed. Alternatively, only a subset of the inputs may be usedto cause the user interface to be displayed (e.g., excluding the “mute”input for the remote control device of FIG. 3). For example, thedirectional inputs and/or the confirmation input may be used to causethe user interface to be displayed. In one specific embodiment, thedirectional input opposite the one discussed above (e.g., “down” versusthe previously discussed “up” input) may be used to cause the userinterface to be redisplayed. In embodiments where the remote controldevice includes a “menu” input (or similar input), the same input may beused to cause the user interface to be redisplayed.

In 1312, the first icon may be determined using the selectioninformation. More specifically, the selection information may be used todetermine which icon was previously selected in the user interface.Further, in embodiments where the user interface is able to be hidden ata level other than the top level (e.g., other than the first row oficons), the determination of the selected icon may be used to determinewhich level of the user interface should be shown (e.g., to determinewhich state the user interface should be in when redisplayed).

In 1314, the user interface may be redisplayed in response to the userinput of 1310. Where the user interface included rows of icons and thefirst icon was among the first row of icons, the first row of icons maybe redisplayed in response to the user input of 1310. Moreover, theelement selection item may be displayed at the first icon based on thedetermination of 1312.

The method of FIG. 13 may provide several advantages for hiding the userinterface. For example, when using directional inputs to hide theinterface, a “menu” input may not be required for the remote controldevice, thus allowing the remote control device to be as simple aspossible, which may be desirable. Additionally, a “hide” menu item is nolonger required in the user interface and can be performed easily by theuser. Further, the position of the element selection item may bemaintained when the user interface is redisplayed, since the user didnot have to select a different menu item to hide the user interface.Thus, the above described method may allow for a better and moreefficient user experience.

Moreover, while the above descriptions focus on user interfaces whichinclude various rows of icons, such as those previously described, othertypes of user interfaces are also envisioned, e.g., which are notarranged in rows. Thus, the method of FIG. 13 is not limited to any oneparticular type of user interface.

FIGS. 14A-14I—Exemplary Interfaces Corresponding to FIG. 13

FIGS. 14A-14I are exemplary user interfaces which correspond to oneembodiment of the method of FIG. 13. More specifically, these userinterfaces correspond to an embodiment involving videoconferencing.These graphical user interfaces are provided as examples only and do notlimit any of the embodiments described above.

As shown in FIG. 14A, a video (in this case, “The Fifth Element”,continuing from the example of FIGS. 12A-12H) is shown. Additionally,the video user interface is displayed over the video. As indicated bythe “up arrow” and the text “hide”, by providing the “up” directionalinput, the user may hide the user interface. In response to this userinput, in FIG. 14B, the user interface is hidden. In FIG. 14C, the userhas provided input to redisplay the user interface. For example, theuser may provide the “down” directional input, another input, or, insome embodiments, any use of the remote control may cause the userinterface displayed (e.g., except perhaps the “mute” input). Inresponse, the user input is redisplayed, and the previously selecteditem (the playback menu) is again selected.

In FIGS. 14D-14F, the user has selected the “call” menu, hidden the userinterface, and caused it to redisplay. Similar to the previous set ofFigures, the user interface is redisplayed having the selection item atthe same location as when it was previously hidden. Similarly, the menuis remembers the location in FIGS. 14G-14I, where the user selects the“advanced” menu.

FIG. 15—User Interface with Context Sensitive Wake

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of a method for providing a userinterface which wakes from sleep in a context sensitive manner. Themethod shown in FIG. 15 may be used in conjunction with any of thecomputer systems or devices shown in the above Figures, among otherdevices. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown maybe performed concurrently, performed in a different order than shown, oromitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. Asshown, the method may operate as follows.

In 1502, at a first time, a device may enter a sleep mode. For example,user input may be received to cause the device (e.g., which may be avideoconferencing unit) to enter the sleep mode. In one embodiment, theuser input may be received via a remote control device, e.g., selectingan icon from the user interface to enter the sleep mode.

However, the sleep mode may be entered in response to other actions ortriggers. For example, the device may be configured to enter the sleepmode when inactive or after a certain period of inactivity (e.g.,inactivity of the user and/or inactivity of the device itself). Morespecifically, the device may enter the sleep mode if the user has notinteracted with the device in a certain period of time. Alternatively,or additionally, the device may enter the sleep mode if the device isnot currently performing a function (e.g., the device may not go tosleep if it is playing a video, performing a videoconference, etc., evenif the user has not interacted with the device). In further embodiments,there may be a first threshold for device activity and a second, e.g.longer, threshold for user activity, such as 5 minutes and 30 minutes,respectively.

The device may enter the sleep mode in response to other activities ortriggers, as desired. Thus, in 1502, the device may enter the sleep modeat the first time.

In 1504, at a later time, user input may be received to cause the deviceto exit the sleep mode or wake. Similar to 1310 above, the user inputmay involve any number of possible inputs from a remote control device,whether it be a particular input, a particular subset of inputs, acombination of inputs, or any input, as desired. For example, the usermay provide directional user input or “confirmation” input to cause thedevice to wake. In further embodiments, the user input may be receivedto the device itself (e.g., pressing a dedicated sleep/wake input, apower input, etc.).

In further embodiments, the device may wake automatically, e.g., inresponse to detecting the user's presence or in response to otherstimuli. For example, the device may be configured to detect the user'spresence using any of the embodiments discussed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 13/194,655, 13/093,948, and/or 12/724,226, all ofwhich were incorporated by reference in their entirety above.

In 1506, a context may be determined in response to the user input of1504. Determining the context may involve determining a current state ofthe device and/or the state of the device at the first time.

For example, the device may have previously been placed in one or moremodes, e.g., in response to user input. For example, the user may haveinvoked a “do not disturb” mode and the device may have entered thesleep mode while the “do not disturb” mode was still active.Accordingly, determining the context may include determining that the“do not disturb” mode was/is active. Similar embodiments may apply toother modes, e.g., if the device was previously muted. Additional statesor modes may be based on system health conditions (e.g., no networkconnectivity), rejoin a conference, join a scheduled meeting, etc.

In another embodiment, the device may have previously joined aconference (e.g., assuming the device is a conferencing device, such asa videoconferencing unit). Accordingly, the method may determine 1) thatthe device had previously joined the conference and 2) that theconference is still active. Accordingly, determining the context mayinvolve determining that the device can rejoin a previously joinedconference. Further details regarding rejoining a previously joinedvideoconference are provided below, regarding FIG. 17.

In another embodiment, determining the context may involve analyzing aschedule associated with the device or user (e.g., a conferencingschedule, TV schedule, etc.). Accordingly, the method may determinewhether a scheduled activity (e.g., videoconference, TV show, movie,etc.) is currently underway or is about to be underway (e.g., within thenext minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.). Thus, determining the contextmay involve analysis of scheduled activities and/or the proximity ofthose activities to the current time.

In further embodiments, the determination of the context may be similarto the determination discussed above in 904, although otherdeterminations of context are envisioned.

Additionally, where more than one of the above modes or situations arepresent (e.g., where “do not disturb” and a previously joined conferenceis available), the determination of context may determine a prioritybetween those modes or situations. For example, a previously joinedvideoconference availability may have a higher priority than the “do notdisturb” mode. This priority may be determined based on a previouslydefined set of rules (e.g., designed or set by the user), dynamically,etc.

Moreover, where the various modes or situations above (or othercontexts) are not present, determining the context may includedetermining that there is a default context (or lack of detected modesor situations). Accordingly, determination of the context may involvedetermining a “default” context.

Thus, in 1506, the context may be determined in response to the userinput in 1504.

In 1508, in response to the user input in 1504, a user interface may bedisplayed, e.g., including a first row of icons, similar to userinterfaces previously discussed. Additionally, in 1510, a elementselection item may be displayed which visually indicates an option inthe user interface, e.g., a first icon in the first row of icons, basedon the context determined in 1506.

For example, where the context includes an active “do not disturb” mode,the visually indicated option may be to deactivate the “do not disturb”mode. Similarly, where there is an available conference that waspreviously joined, the visually indicated option may be to rejoin thatconference. Where a previously scheduled event is underway or proximateto the current time (e.g., within 5 minutes of the current time), anoption to activate or join the event may be visually indicated. Furthermodes and options are envisioned, depending on the context.

As noted above, where more than one mode or activity is available, theone with the highest priority may be visually indicated (e.g., theselection item may be displayed over the icon corresponding the contextwith the highest priority). However, more than one option may bevisually indicated, though the selection item (in embodiments wherepresent) may be displayed over the option that corresponds to thecontext with highest priority.

In a default context, the selection item may be displayed for a defaultoption or icon (or it may be otherwise visually indicated within theuser interface). Alternatively, in the default context, the option thatwas last used may be selected by default (e.g., similar to redisplayingthe user interface described above regarding FIG. 13).

Thus, according to the method of FIG. 15, after waking from sleep, theuser interface may be displayed based on a determined context.

FIGS. 16A-16E—Exemplary Interfaces Corresponding to FIG. 15

FIGS. 16A-16E are exemplary user interfaces which correspond to oneembodiment of the method of FIG. 15. More specifically, these userinterfaces correspond to an embodiment involving videoconferencing.These graphical user interfaces are provided as examples only and do notlimit any of the embodiments described above.

As shown in FIG. 16A, the user has turned on “Do Not Disturb” mode.Additionally, the icon corresponding to “rejoining” a previous meeting(discussed in more detail below) is also indicated, both in the top lefthand corner, and by the dotted lines (e.g., which may be some visualindication, such as a green highlight). In FIG. 16B, the user invokesthe sleep mode by changing to the icon corresponding to “Sleep” (insteadof the “Do Not Disturb” icon). After invoking sleep mode, the device(and correspondingly, the display) goes to “sleep” and video signals maybe lacking or may at least not correspond to the user interface (e.g.,they may correspond to a screen saver or other images/video).

In FIG. 16C, upon waking from the sleep mode, the icon “rejoin” forrejoining a previous videoconference is selected. This option may beselected ahead of “Do Not Disturb” since it may generally have a higherpriority (e.g., the user may desire to choose to rejoin thevideoconference rather than turn off the “Do Not Disturb” mode uponwaking).

In FIG. 16D, the “rejoin” option is not available, so upon waking, the“Do Not Disturb” icon is selected, e.g., so that the user may turn off“Do Not Disturb”. Finally, in FIG. 16E, where both the “rejoin” optionis not available and the “Do Not Disturb” mode is not invoked, uponwaking, the user interface shows the schedule item selected. In someembodiments, this may simply be the default option, or, in this case, itmay be selected since the “eStaff Meeting” is already underway.

Thus, depending on different contexts, different options or icons may beselected upon waking from sleep mode.

FIG. 17—Rejoining a Previously Joined Videoconference

FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment of a method for rejoining a previouslyjoined videoconference. The method shown in FIG. 17 may be used inconjunction with any of the computer systems or devices shown in theabove Figures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some of themethod elements shown may be performed concurrently, performed in adifferent order than shown, or omitted. Additional method elements mayalso be performed as desired. As shown, the method may operate asfollows.

In 1702, a videoconference may be initiated between a plurality ofvideoconferencing systems, e.g., at least three videoconferencingsystems. The videoconference may be initiated and/or performed in themanner described in various U.S. patent applications incorporated byreference above, such as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/252,238.

The videoconference may be initially hosted by one of thevideoconferencing systems involved in the videoconference, e.g., one ofthe videoconferencing systems may act as an MCU of the videoconference.In some embodiments, the videoconference may be transferred from one ofthe videoconferencing systems to a server, which may act as MCU for thevideoconference. For example, the videoconference may have beeninitially hosted by a first videoconferencing system, which may performthe method elements below, and then may be hosted by one or moreservers. However, the videoconference may be initially hosted by adifferent videoconferencing system, as desired. The transfer of thevideoconference from the hosting videoconferencing system to the one ormore servers may be performed in a transparent or seamless manner—thatis, participants in the videoconference may not be aware that thetransfer has occurred. Alternatively, instead of initially being hostedby one of the videoconferencing systems, the videoconference may havebeen hosted by one or more servers. Thus, in one embodiment, thevideoconference may be hosted in the “cloud”.

In 1704, the first videoconferencing system may leave thevideoconference. The first videoconferencing system may leave thevideoconference for a variety of reasons. For example, a user of thefirst videoconferencing system may provide input to thevideoconferencing system to leave the videoconference, e.g., using auser interface similar to those discussed herein. Alternatively, thefirst videoconferencing system may leave the videoconference fortechnical reasons, e.g., due to a network or bandwidth issue.

In some embodiments, as discussed above, the first videoconferencingsystem may have initially hosted the videoconference. Thevideoconference may have been previously transferred to one or moreservers (or another videoconferencing system) after initiation.Alternatively, the transfer may occur upon the first videoconferencingsystem leaving the videoconference in 1704. Similar to above, thistransfer may be performed in a transparent or seamless manner. However,in one embodiment, the first videoconferencing system may not havehosted the videoconference.

The videoconference may continue between others of the videoconferencingsystems after the first videoconferencing system has left thevideoconference in 1704.

In 1706, the first videoconferencing unit may display a user interfacewhich includes an option to rejoin the videoconference, in response tothe first videoconferencing system leaving the videoconference in 1704.For example, the user interface may be similar to those described aboveand may include an icon in a row of icons (e.g., the top level row oficons) that enables the user to rejoin the videoconference, e.g., whilethe videoconference is continuing or available to be rejoined.

In some embodiments, the option to rejoin the videoconference may onlybe present for a threshold period of time, e.g., 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10minutes, and may disappear from the user interface after the thresholdhas been reached. Note that the option to rejoin the videoconference maybe removed from the user interface prior to completion of thevideoconference. Additionally, the option to rejoin the videoconferencemay only be present while the videoconference is still available.

In 1708, user input may be received to rejoin the videoconference usingthe option displayed in 1706. For example, the user may select theoption using a remote control device, such as the one shown in FIG. 3.

In 1710, the first videoconferencing system may rejoin thevideoconference in response to the user input in 1708. The firstvideoconferencing system may rejoin the videoconference using methodstypically used for joining videoconferences.

Thus, in the method of FIG. 17, a user may be able to rejoin apreviously joined videoconference that is still underway, unlike priorsystems which did not or could not provide such a possibility.

FIGS. 18A-18B—Exemplary Interfaces Corresponding to FIG. 17

FIGS. 18A-18B are exemplary user interfaces which correspond to oneembodiment of the method of FIG. 17. More specifically, these userinterfaces correspond to an embodiment involving videoconferencing.These graphical user interfaces are provided as examples only and do notlimit any of the embodiments described above.

In FIG. 18A, the user has selected the option to leave a currentvideoconference. In FIG. 18B, after leaving the videoconference, a menuoption to rejoin the previous videoconference is made available in theuser interface (e.g., at the top level).

FIG. 19—Controlling a Camera that is not Currently Displayed

FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment of a method for providing a userinterface for controlling a camera whose video is not currentlydisplayed. The method shown in FIG. 19 may be used in conjunction withany of the computer systems or devices shown in the above Figures, amongother devices. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shownmay be performed concurrently, performed in a different order thanshown, or omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed asdesired. As shown, this method may operate as follows.

In 1902, user input may be received selecting a first camera to becontrolled. In one embodiment, a user may provide the user input toselect the first camera using a user interface, e.g., which may bedisplayed on a display similar to 702 above.

Video of the selected camera may not be currently displayed to the usermaking the selection. For example, the user providing the input may beat a first videoconferencing system, which may be showing video ofdifferent camera(s) (e.g., of other videoconferencing locations, a localcamera at the first videoconferencing system, etc.), a presentation,and/or any video not provided by the first camera.

Accordingly, based on the selection in 1902, in 1904, one or more cameracontrols for controlling the first camera may be displayed. For example,these camera control(s) may be used to control pan and tilt and/or zoomof the first camera.

In one particular embodiment, the displayed camera controls may besimilar to those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/327,904, which was incorporated by reference above. Morespecifically, in such an embodiment, a first input control and a secondinput control for controlling pan and tilt or zoom of a camera,respectively, may be displayed. More specifically, the first inputcontrol for controlling the pan of the camera may be displayed at afirst location in the user interface (shown on the display) and thesecond input control for controlling the tilt or zoom of the camera maybe displayed at a second location in the user interface.

In some embodiments, the first and second input controls may bedisplayed in response to selection of a camera. For example, the usermay select a camera to control from a plurality of various cameras.Accordingly, in response to selection (e.g., and confirmation) of thecamera, the first and second input controls may be displayed.

The first input control may be displayed as an icon in the userinterface. Additionally, the icon may visually indicate that it may beused to control pan and tilt of the camera. For example, the icon mayinclude a picture of a camera with arrows around it to indicate possiblemovement. Similarly, the second input control may be displayed as anicon in the user interface that visually indicates that it may be usedto control the zoom of the camera. For example, the icon may include apicture of a magnifying glass, typically used to indicate zoomfunctionality.

Additionally, based on the selection in 1902, in 1906, video of thefirst camera may be displayed, e.g., so that the user can now see thevideo of the first camera while controlling the camera, therebyproviding visual feedback as the user provides input to control thefirst camera.

In 1908, user input may be received to control the first camera. Forexample, the user may use a remote control, such as the one shown inFIG. 3, to provide input to the displayed camera controls. In oneembodiment, the user may provide input to control the pan and tiltand/or zoom of the first camera using the camera controls.

For example, following the particular embodiment discussed above, firstdirectional input selecting an input control may be received. Morespecifically, in one embodiment, the user may use directional input inorder to cause the selection item to select one of the input controls.

Additionally, user input indicating acceptance of the selected inputcontrol may be received. For example, after selection in 1104, the usermay provide input confirming selection of the input control, e.g., via aconfirmation input of the remote control device. Note that the user maybe able to deselect one of these input controls by providingconfirmation input.

Further, second directional input to adjust the camera may be received.More specifically, where the user has selected and confirmed the firstinput control, the second directional input may be received to controlthe pan or tilt of the camera. In one embodiment, left and rightdirectional input may be used to control pan of the camera while up anddown directional input may be used to control tilt of the camera.

Similarly, where the user has selected and confirmed the second inputcontrol, the second directional input may be received to control thezoom of the camera. In one embodiment, left and right directional inputmay be used to decrease and increase zoom, respectively. In a particularembodiment, vertical input may be used to change from controlling thezoom to controlling the pan and tilt of the camera, e.g., without havingto deselect the second input control and select the first input control.This change in control may be displayed on the display by changing fromdisplaying the selection item for the second input control to displayingthe selection item for the first input control. Thus, in thisembodiment, the user may be able to quickly switch from controlling thezoom of the camera to controlling the pan and tilt of the camera. Notethat the reverse may not be possible since the first input control mayutilize all directional input for controlling pan and tilt.

Note further that the particular direction of the input may be reversed,e.g., where vertical input is used to control zoom and the horizontalinput is used to switch from the first control to the second control.Additionally, the direction input orthogonal to the control of the zoommay only work in the direction of the first input control relative tothe second input control. For example, where the zoom is controlledusing horizontal directional input and the first input control isdisplayed above the second input control, the switch from the firstcontrol to the second control may only occur when the up directionalinput is provided, although other embodiments are envisioned.

Finally, in 1910, the first camera may be adjusted (e.g., the pan andtilt or zoom of the camera) based on the user input in 1908. Morespecifically, signals may be provided to the camera to cause the camerato adjust its pan, tilt, or zoom, based on the input received in 1908.Correspondingly, the displayed video of the first camera may providevisual feedback to the user as the input is provided.

Note that the method may further include displaying icons for differentcamera presets. The user may select these icons (e.g., using directionalinput) and confirm selection (e.g., by providing confirmation input). Inresponse, the pan and tilt and/or zoom of the camera may be adjusted tothe values represented by the camera presets.

FIGS. 20A-20F—Exemplary Interfaces Corresponding to FIG. 19

FIGS. 20A-20F are exemplary user interfaces which correspond to oneembodiment of the method of FIG. 19. More specifically, these userinterfaces correspond to an embodiment involving videoconferencing.These graphical user interfaces are provided as examples only and do notlimit any of the embodiments described above.

As shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B, the user initially begins a presentation.Accordingly, the currently displayed video corresponds to thepresentation and does not correspond to a video camera.

In FIG. 20C, the user has selected the advanced menu to display previoustop level icons. In FIG. 20D, the user has selected the camera item fromthe inputs sub-menu. In FIG. 20E, the user has selected the “frontcamera” from the “primary input” menu to select the camera.

Finally, in FIG. 20F, the user is able to control the camera usingcamera controls. Additionally, the video of the camera is now displayedin the background instead of the presentation, which is the currentactive video. Accordingly, the user may use the camera controls tocontrol the selected camera and view the changes in the video. Thecamera controls may operate as described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/327,904, which was incorporated by reference in its entiretyabove. After finishing control of the camera (e.g., by returning toprevious menus), the video in the background may switch back to thecurrent active video, which, in this case, is the presentation video.

Embodiments of a subset or all (and portions or all) of the above may beimplemented by program instructions stored in a memory medium or carriermedium and executed by a processor.

In some embodiments, a computer system at a respective participantlocation may include a memory medium(s) on which one or more computerprograms or software components according to one embodiment of thepresent invention may be stored. For example, the memory medium maystore one or more programs that are executable to perform the methodsdescribed herein. The memory medium may also store operating systemsoftware, as well as other software for operation of the computersystem.

Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects ofthe invention may be apparent to those skilled in the art in view ofthis description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed asillustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled inthe art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to beunderstood that the forms of the invention shown and described hereinare to be taken as embodiments. Elements and materials may besubstituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts andprocesses may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may beutilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in theart after having the benefit of this description of the invention.Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for rejoining a previousvideoconference, comprising: a videoconferencing unit initiating avideoconference, wherein the videoconference comprises at least oneother videoconferencing unit; the videoconferencing unit leaving thevideoconference while the videoconference is in progress; thevideoconferencing unit displaying a user interface, wherein the userinterface includes an option to rejoin the videoconference.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: the videoconferencing unitreceiving user input to rejoin the videoconference; and thevideoconferencing unit rejoining the videoconference in response to theuser input
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein after said initiating thevideoconference, the videoconference is hosted by a server.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the videoconferencing unit initially hoststhe videoconference, wherein the transfer of hosting is transparent toparticipants in the videoconference.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe videoconferencing unit initially hosts the videoconference, whereinafter said leaving the videoconference, the videoconference is hosted byanother computer system or videoconferencing unit.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said leaving the videoconference is performed inresponse to a network connection issue.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein said leaving the videoconference is performed in response touser input.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interfacecomprises a first row of icons, wherein the first row of icons comprisesa first icon that is user selectable to rejoin the videoconference,wherein said receiving user input to rejoin the videoconferencecomprises receiving user input selecting the first icon.
 9. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: after a first period of time, removingthe option to rejoin the videoconference from the user interface. 10.The method of claim 9, wherein said removing is performed prior tocompletion of the videoconference.
 11. A non-transitory, computeraccessible memory medium storing program instructions for rejoining aprevious videoconference, wherein the program instructions areexecutable to: initiate a videoconference with a plurality ofvideoconferencing endpoints; leave the videoconference while thevideoconference is in progress; display a user interface which includesan option to rejoin the videoconference; receive user input to rejointhe videoconference; and rejoin the videoconference in response to theuser input.
 12. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium ofclaim 11, wherein after said initiating the videoconference, thevideoconference is hosted by a server.
 13. The non-transitory, computeraccessible memory medium of claim 12, wherein the videoconferencing unitinitially hosts the videoconference, wherein the transfer of hosting istransparent to participants in the videoconference.
 14. Thenon-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 11, whereinthe videoconferencing unit initially hosts the videoconference, whereinafter said leaving the videoconference, the videoconference is hosted byanother computer system or videoconferencing unit.
 15. Thenon-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 11, whereinsaid leaving the videoconference is performed in response to a networkconnection issue.
 16. The non-transitory, computer accessible memorymedium of claim 11, wherein said leaving the videoconference isperformed in response to user input.
 17. The non-transitory, computeraccessible memory medium of claim 11, wherein the user interfacecomprises a first row of icons, wherein the first row of icons comprisesa first icon that is user selectable to rejoin the videoconference,wherein said receiving user input to rejoin the videoconferencecomprises receiving user input selecting the first icon.
 18. Thenon-transitory, computer accessible memory medium of claim 11, whereinthe program instructions are further executable to: after a first periodof time, removing the option to rejoin the videoconference from the userinterface.
 19. The non-transitory, computer accessible memory medium ofclaim 18, wherein said removing is performed prior to completion of thevideoconference.
 20. A videoconferencing system, comprising: avideoconferencing unit at a participant location; at least one displaycoupled to the videoconferencing unit, wherein the at least one displayis configured to provide video corresponding to other participantlocations during a videoconference; at least one audio output coupled tothe videoconferencing unit, wherein the at least one audio output isconfigured to provide audio corresponding to the other participantlocations during the videoconference; at least one video input coupledto the videoconferencing unit, wherein the at least one video input isconfigured to capture video of the participant location for provision tothe other participant locations; at least one audio input coupled to thevideoconferencing unit, wherein the at least one audio input isconfigured to capture audio of the participant location for provision tothe other participant locations; wherein the videoconference unit isconfigured to: initiate a videoconference with a plurality ofvideoconferencing endpoints; leave the videoconference while thevideoconference is in progress; display a user interface on the at leastone display, wherein the user interface includes an option to rejoin thevideoconference; receive user input to rejoin the videoconference; andrejoin the videoconference in response to the user input.